Gator

You have strange business ideas. You're all "show me the money", but cringe at the thought of anyone having "expectations". You want membership, crowds and funding, but won't hear of "expectation". Good luck. I recommend you never run a business.

He'll be given plenty of time. But it's worth noting, he'll put far more pressure on himself than any of us. He's a rare competitive beast who'll want to make an impression from the outset.

It's great that you have your expectations firmly in check, but as another poster has already mentioned, the players you refer to weren't 20 years of age with 3 preseasons under their belt. I'm not suggesting he'll be Tony Lockett, who kicked 77 goals as an 18 year old, but I do think he'll impact games and quarters far more than some believe.

I would say that his performances have been exaggerated, but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a call up. Based on talent AND performance it's a no-brainer that he does.

Yeah, not bad.

Quintessential Melbourne fan's response.

That's ordinary for a mid. Petracca did 14.12 at DC and he's not known for his endurance.

Perhaps I should have said "should". I'll be exceedingly disappointed if Ablett walks off the ground by games end without being in severe pain.

True, but for his development he'll be far better off at AFL level if he's ready. Ollie Wines had ordinary endurance when he was drafted by Port Adelaide, but has managed to play 49 games straight. How much do you think that development will have helped him coming into his third year of football ? From a talent and development perspective it makes complete sense to get as many games as possible into him.

Melbourne will play the ball, but they'll also drive his shoulder into the ground every single opportunity they get.

It's all part of the progression. I'm not going to wait until we have 100 games experience per player to start harnessing objectives. If supporters don't have "expectations" they have nothing. If my expectations were 2-3 wins, like GWS a few years ago, I'd be content, because it would be based on reasonable data. But I will always have expectations.

95% of draftees won't be good enough to be considered staples from the get-go and 95% of draftees aren't top 3 draft picks. Unlike Trengove, who played his entire first year as an 18 year old, Brayshaw turned 19 in January. How fit do you think Dustin Martin was in his first year ? Btw, I didn't name him, Heppell, Wingard, Couch, and "countless others". When I referred to 'bevy' I was assuming Ablett, O'Meara, Dixon and Lynch wouldn't be playing, i.e. their 2 best mids and 2 best key forwards. That's a really important quartet. Does 4 constitute a 'bevy' ? 'Gaggle' means at least 5. If Bail, McKenzie, Matt Jones, Grimes and Garland all play we'll have a 'gaggle' of ordinary footballers lining up in round 1.

I read tonight that the Suns are considering playing O'Meara in round one. http://www.news.com.au/sport/afl/jaeger-omeara-needs-strong-training-session-to-cement-place-in-gold-coast-round-1-team/story-fndv8hfz-1227285205602 We'll wait and see, but I suspect Gold Coast are more concerned about this game than some Dees supporters, who think a loss is a forgone conclusion.

I was there and want Brayshaw to play in round 1, but I didn't think he was BOG. He was OK, but the superlatives of his game are exaggerated. I thought Mitchie was as good, but he didn't get the chain of 3-4 nothing possessions that Brayshaw did in a 5 metre radius that inflated his numbers. I've seen the last 2 weeks and Brayshaw didn't dominate in either game. But he played well in both. Mitchie was better this week compared to last week. Draftees do get talked up in the media. EDIT: I see that Casey named Brayshaw best, so who am I to disagree. I studied him and saw his every involvement but perhaps I'm too quick to find fault. I love him as a player, which can sometimes lead to one becoming overly critical.

You'll forgive me for suggesting this is a very shallow view. I wouldn't advocate Stretch playing because he's not ready, but a 19 year old brayshaw is. But for interests sake, tell me why Aish, Lewis Taylor, Wines, Macrae, Dunstan, MacDonald (North), Mayes, O'Meara, Bontempelli, Ellis, Vlastuin, and countless others were staples from the get-go, but it's asking too much of Brayshaw. I'm fascinated to know.

Your "games played" theory has merit, but the back 6 holds enough experience and around the ball there's Jamar, N. Jones, Lamumba, Vince, Cross and Tyson. Tyson may only have 20 games, but he's a 4th year player which makes a difference. So there's a seasoned back 6 and a very experienced first tier midfield. You under value the maturity of our best 22.

Expectation on performance and the amount of wins to determine whether you consider a supporter realistic or not. Clubs are in the business of winning games of football. They exist for no other purpose. I'm not really sure what you're on about, so we may be at cross purposes. EDIT: obviously we're a club building from camp zero, that's not in question, but as I demonstrated earlier, the club has a more mature best 22 than many believe; and imo your overly pessimistic view isn't based on reality.

He has issues, but pace isn't one of them.

We have a gaggle of very ordinary players running around, who help define our ineptitude. The sooner a talented 19 year old starts learning at AFL level the better. More importantly, he's better than what he'll replace.

If a player is ready and has AFL quality traits they'll "develop" quicker at AFL level than VFL level.

Thanks, but I've no clue with what you're disagreeing with.

I could sense the tone of the post, so responded in kind. Clearly there are no guarantees, but I'm not going to let past failings from past teams define my expectations for the future. And, of course, we're "in with a chance of winning". I'll be disappointed if we don't. The Suns are underdone and without a bevy of their better players.

Or Port and Brisbane in others. What's your point ?

Uninspiring, but I suppose all clubs feel they have to do this sort of rubbish. No better or worse than what else is out there.

You have a very defeatist attitude shared by many. Naturally, you're welcome to it.